The Carolina Panthers are not a very good football team. Even though they have only played two games so far this year, they are already considered to be one of the favorites to earn the top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. This, of course, would mean that they will finish with the worst record in the NFL this year.
Yesterday, the Panthers announced that their quarterback, Bryce Young, would be benched in favor of veteran Andy Dalton for their Week Three matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders. Young was the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, a pick that saw Carolina acquire from the Chicago Bears in exchange for DJ Moore, the number one overall pick in 2024, and numerous other picks.
While the decision to start Dalton this week is undoubtedly the right one in that he does give them a better chance of winning, the fact that they are in this position to begin with is an indictment on how poor of a team they are right now.
On Tuesday, they made another decision that has left fans scratching their heads.
The Carolina Panthers Released Linebacker Eku Leota
Earlier on Tuesday, NFL insider Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported that the Panthers have released linebacker Eku Leota:
The #Panthers are waiving OLB Eku Leota, per source.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 17, 2024
In two games, Leota has accumulated just four tackles, but one of them was a sack, which (given the team’s poor defense) led the Panthers. He also had three tackles for loss.
Leota signed as an undrafted free agent with Carolina in 2023 and appeared in eight games for them last year. He only played 77 defensive snaps all season in 2023, accumulating four tackles.
NFL Fans Rip the Carolina Panthers on Social Media Following the Release of Eku Leota
Needless to say, the decision to release one of their most productive players was not met well with fans on social media.
Panthers fans and NFL aficionados in general roasted Carolina on X (formerly Twitter) when news of Leota’s release broke:
He currently leads the Panthers in sacks… https://t.co/zMeAQHOfYQ
— Mike Kaye (@mike_e_kaye) September 17, 2024
Are The Panthers just making roster moves because they can?? https://t.co/RRyjhaDuTL
— Canseco2Times (@SpenceJustRelax) September 17, 2024
The #Panthers are the #Athletics of the NFL https://t.co/jl00VMlGjP
— Matthew Selz (@theselzman) September 17, 2024
Panthers have 2 sacks this season… Leota has 1 of them.
Panthers have 7 tackles for a loss this season… Leota has 3 of them.
Panthers have 3 QB hits this season… Leota has 1 of them
Is he a star? No. But, still, I can not make sense of the Panthers roster management. https://t.co/BUCZiH9snw
— Tim Donnelly (@DonnellySports) September 17, 2024
The Panthers have gotten rid of Leota, Moore, McCaffrey, and Burns all before any of those players turned 26 years old. What a disaster of an organization. https://t.co/VyAJ3rytKB
— Keon R. (@sportscloud1580) September 17, 2024
At this point, the Panthers are playing Madden. https://t.co/jpHrgbQpYl
— Giannis Igottapooptho: Master Healer. (@Macallan_King) September 17, 2024
As one can see, fans are not happy. Leota was the most productive player on a defense that is seriously lacking in production. As one X user above pointed out, he is no star player; but he has been one of their better players.
One has to wonder what the motivation was behind this roster move.
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